U.S. Strategic Command, the military nuclear warfighting command whose mission includes ensuring freedom of acton in space, tracked the two satellites but has not heard from the secretive Chinese military that runs Beijing's space program, including its anti-satellite missile system.

"Our analysts determined there are two Chinese satellites in close proximity of each other," a defense official told Inside the Ring. "We do not know if they have made physical contact..."

There were concerns that a collision of the two orbiters would cause them to break up and create debris that could threaten other satellites and spacecraft.

two Chinese satellites conducted a close inspection of each other in near-Earth orbit on Aug. 22. One satellite identified as SJ-12 carried out a series of maneuvers in its rendezvous with an older satellite called SJ-06F.

After the encounter, the orbit of second satellite changed, indicating it may have been bumped by the maneuvering one. The Strategic Command data indicated that the satellites came as close as 200 meters from each other just before a possible collision.

James Oberg, a space affairs analyst, said the rendezvous appears linked to the military, which is in charge of the all space programs inChina. ( no evidence, source or data given, just a guess? G )

Additionally, Mr. Oberg said an "alarming aspect" of the satellite test was how space watchers in the West completely missed it. The test has "blown away their comfortable assumptions about Beijing's intentions and capabilities," he said.